Street-sweeper



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. BROWN. STREET SWEBPER.

No. 589,692 Patented Sept. 7,1897.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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A. BROWN. STREET SWEEPER.

Patented ept. 7,1897.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3. A. BROWN.

STREET SWEEPBR. No. 589,692. Patented Sept. 7,1897.

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT @EETQE.

ALVIN BBOXVN, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS.

STREET-SWEEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 589,692, datedSeptember '7, 1897.

Application filed January 29, 1897. Serial No. 621,169. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALvIN Snows, of aurora, in the county of Kane andState of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Street-Sweeper, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement in that class of street-sweepers which.are provided with rotary brushes and a casin g or receptaole in whichthe dirt or refuse swept up by the brushes is temporarily held and fromwhich it may be automatically dumped as required.

I have devised and adopted various iin provenients in the differentportions of the machine, as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, (three sl1eets,) Figure l is aplan View ofthe machine. Fig. 2 is a side view. Fig. is a longitudinal section online 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. l is a crosssection on line a at of Fig. 5.Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. (3 is anenlarged detail section on line 6 o of Fig. :2. '7 is an enlarged detailsection on line 7 7 of Fig. 2. Fig. S is an enlarged view of the innerend of the hub of one of the transporting and driving wheels. Fig. 9 isan enlarged detail section illustrating the attachment of one of thebrushesto a belt.

The box or casing A of the sweeper is supported upon the axle B of reartransportingwheels 0 and provided with lateral iron or steel frame-barsD, which are bolted to said casing, their forward ends, Fig. 2, beingbent inward and secured to a fifth-wheel or a wheeled fore axle F, towhich the team is in practice attached. The rear wheels 0 are providedwith rubber tires 0, Fig. 2, to enable them to run noiselcsslyand alsohave due friction with the pavement, so that they may serve asdriversfor the brush-drum G, arranged transversely within the enlargedrear portion of the casing A. I employ gear and lever mechanism forthrowing the said wheels into and out of connection with the brushdru1n-shaft II. For this purpose an annular internal gear I, Fig. 1, issecured to their inner sides, and I mount pinions J on the ends of thedrum-shaft II, and adapt them to slide thereon, so that they may beeasily and quickly thrown into and out of engagement with the aforesaidannular gears I, when required, by lever mechanism, which will bepresently described. It is apparent that when so engaged withlhe wheelsC the drum G will be rotated, and thereby cause the endless brush-bcltsK, Fig. 3, that run on it, and a counter-drum G, arranged in the frontend of casing A, to travel in the direction of the arrows.

Levers I, are loosely coupled with the pinions J and arranged andpivoted vertically on the sides of the casing A. Their upper ends areconnected by rods M with the pivoted leverarrns a of alazy-tongs N,arranged on the rear portion of the casing. The links '22-", formingpart of said lazy-tongs,are connected with a slide 0, that works in afixed guide way 0, and also with a rod P, that extends forward to avertical handdevcr Q, pivoted to a rack-stand R, secured on the driversplatform. Thelatter extends over the fifth-wheel F. It is apparent thatby setting the handlever Q forward in the position shown by full lines,Fig. 1, the lazy-tongs N will be opened and the lovers L caused to throwthe pinions J outward into engagement with the annular gears I of wheelsG, whereby the brush-belts K are set in motion, and, on the other hand,by setting said lever Q back the lazy-tongs N are contracted orclosethas shown bydotted lines, Fig. 1, and the brush-belts K thrown outof action.

It is necessary that the pinions J may act independently, sinceotherwise the sweeper could not operate when deviating from a straightline or in any case when one transporting-wheel G rotates faster orslower than the otherI To enable this to be done, the drum shaft anddrum are divided transversely in the center of their length. Thus thepinions J may work together or independently in rotating the drum G anddriving the brush-belts K. The bottom of the casing A has an opening a,Fig. 3, at the front for admission of dirt, &c., and another opening aat the rear end for discharging or dumping the same. The brushes properof the belts K run in contact with the rear edge of such front openinga, so as to sweep the loose dirt or refuse into the casing, wherein itis gradually forced up the incline a Fig. 3, and thus backward into thereservoir or receptacle provided in therear end of the casin g A. Thedischarge-opening at of such receptacle is provided with a swinging dooror shutter T, which is pivoted, by means of supporting-arms s, at points5* on the frame-bars D. This door or shutter will close automaticallyand is also held normally closed by its own gravity, but may be openedby swinging it upward and backward, as shown by dotted lines, Fig 2.

The means for raising the shutter T when it is desired to discharge aload from the sweeper comprise wires, small chain s, or ropes U,attached to the shutter and passed over sheaves u, journaled on thesides of the casing A at or near its rear end and then extended forwardto pulleys or small grooved clutchwheels V, Figs. 1 and '7, that aremounted slidably on the non-rotatable axle B of trans porting-wheels C.Said pulleys have a polygonal projection 12 on their outer sides, whichform a half-clutch and are adapted to engage corresponding sockets c inthe hubs of Wheels 0. (See Fig. 8.) The means for throwing these pulleyhalf-clutches V into and out of engagement with the wheels C are similarto those before described for operating the pinions J --that is to say,levers X are loosely connected with said pulley-clutches and pivotedhorizontally to the frame-bars D, their forward ends being connected bytransverse rods Ywith a lazy-tongs Z, whose slide ,2 is in turnconnected by a rod A with a hand-lever B, pivoted in a rack-stand B. Bythrowing such hand-lever forward, so as to open the lazytongs Z, itisobvious the pulleys V will be thrown into clutch with wheels 0 andthereby rotated along with the latter, thus winding on the wires U andraising the shutter T, so as to, permit automatic dumping of thesweepings carried in the casing A, and, contrariwise, upon pulling thehand-lever B back the pulleys V will be freed from wheels G and theshutter T released and allowed to close automatically.

As shown in Fig. 1, a series of narrow brushbelts arranged side by sideis employed in preference to a single broad belt, since this facilitatesrepair or substitution when requisite. The body of the belts may beleather or any other suitable material. Metal sockets'k, in which thebrushes 7t" proper are fastened, are secured to such body portion, andby preference the sockets are so constructed as to enable fiat brushesto be used.

The tufts of brush material are held in the sockets by a staple 73, asshown in Figs. 5 and 9, the ends of the staples passing through the beltK and being riveted on washers on the inner side of the same. Thematerial forming the brushes is doubled at the middle of its length overthe body of the staple and thus held drawn up into the sockets 7;.

The front ends of the several brush-belts K require to be lowered whenfor use and shaft D are adapted to slide vertically in slotted guides orbrackets E, bolted to the frame-bars D, and as a means of adjustment forthe same screw -threaded rods F pass through and work in screw-threadedportions 1 of the bars D and are attached at their lower ends to thebearings D. Hand-wheels H are applied to said rods F for rotating themto produce the desired vertical adjustment of the bearings D.

It is necessary to hold the brush-belts K down at the point where theypass over the rear or scraper edge of the opening a, and to this end Iemploy a roller I, Figs. 2, 3, and 5, that extends transversely acrossthe casing over the lower run of the belts and is journaled in bars J,adapted to slide vertically in grooved guideways K, fixed on the sidesof the casing A and provided with screws for clampin them in any desiredadjustment.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In a street-sweeper, the combination, with acasing, and transporting-wheels having annular internal gears affixedthereto. pinions engaging said gears, and levers for sliding them intoand out of engagement with said gears, of a lazy-tongs arranged on thecasing, a slide, a hand-lever arranged on the drivers platform, rodsconnecting the lazytongs and slide with the pinion-levers andhand-levers, and endless traveling brushbelts which are within thecasing and driven by the pinion-shaft, as shown and described.

2. In a street-sweeper, the combination. with the casing, having abottom dischargeopening, of a shutter pivoted by arms arran ged on thesides of the casing and adapted to close by gravity, clutch-pulleysmounted slidably on the axle, and transporting-wheels with which theyare adapted to engage; shutter-hoisting chains attached to said pulleysand adapted to wind thereon; pivoted levers for sliding the pulleys; alazy-tongs arranged on the casing and connected with the pivoted levers;and rods and a hand-lever for operating the lazy-tongs, as shown anddescribed for the purpose specified.

3. In a street-sweeper, the combination, with the casing, having adischarge-opening, a self-closin g gravity-shutter,pivoted by arms tothe casing, transporting wheels, and clutches or clutch-wheels, chainsconnecting the latter with the shutter, levers for operating theclutches, a lazy-tongs arranged on the casing; a slide working inguideways: a hand-lever on the drivers platform, and rods connectingsaid lazy-tongs with the respective levers, as shown and described.

ALVIN BROXVX.

\Vitnesses:

HENRY II. SHAW, WM. FOWLER.

ICC

